Bovine carriers of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma bovis in South India

Carriers of bovine anaplasmosis in Northern Kerala, South India were detected using conventional microscopical and molecular techniques. PCR-RFLP and nested PCR techniques were used for detection of Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma bovis respectively and the PCR products were confirmed by sequencing. Out of 150 samples tested, 25 were detected positive for A. marginale and five for A. bovis based on molecular tests. The inclusion bodies of A. marginale could be detected by microscopy in two blood smears after staining by giemsa while acridine orange staining detected three smears positive. The data clearly suggest the higher sensitivity of molecular techniques for diagnosis of these diseases.

Prevalence of Linguatula serrata in domestic ruminants in South India.

Linguatula serrata Frohlich, 1789 is an aberrant endoparasite of occasional zoonotic importance in humans. We report the prevalence of encapsulated nymphal stages of L. serrata in domestic ruminants surveyed in Wayanad, located in Kerala State, South India. Large and small intestine mesentery were examined from 100 goats, cattle and buffaloes each revealing an infection prevalence of 21, 19, and 8%, respectively. The prevalence of L. serrata infection among ruminants is higher than previous reports from India and indicates a strong focus of infection in herbivorous domesticated mammals of South India. The potential importance of these findings to human health is discussed.

Visceral schistosomiasis among domestic ruminants slaughtered in Wayanad, South India.

This short communication reports the prevalence of visceral schistosomiasis by worm counts from the mesentery of domestic ruminants of the hilly district of Wayanad, located in Kerala, one of the states in South India. We found 57.3, 50, and 4.7% of cattle, buffaloes and goats, respectively, had visceral schistosomiasis upon slaughter at a municipal slaughter house in Kalpetta. Our findings show that the prevalence of Schistosoma spindale infection is very high in Wayanad in comparison to previous reports from this and neighboring countries.